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Hops

 
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brewmcq




Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Posts: 123
Location: Northern Maine


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:11 pm    Post subject: Hops Reply with quote


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I would love to see this forum come to life. My s/o is very interested in growing our own hops (she's got a VERY green thumb, as it were), and while we will be stocking up on hops books and learning all we can about them, we'd love to see others' experiences, as well as input regarding what types of hops you all prefer for different styles, etc.

Mug
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crush




Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 706
Location: Telemark, Norway


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since I started brewing, 2 friends of mine said that they have hops growing in their garden, and I met a 3rd tonight! All these wild growing hops! Does anyone know how much I need, and how I use them? Getting a IBU measurement is going to be expensive or impractical, but otherwise, how do you build a recipe around fresh hops without knowing the AA content?

Trial and error maybe? Produce some extra wort in a regular batch and boil this up as a mini-batch with the hops and see how this tastes/smells after fermentation.

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Stuttgarter




Joined: 20 Dec 2010
Posts: 53
Location: Stuttgart, Germany


PostLink    Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've grown hops before in Virginia. I had 3 plants (Hallertau, Cascade, and Goldings) and they produced a crazy amount of hops. It does not take a green thumb to grow these and they grow to about 5-6 meters. Take what you can not use right away and freeze them as they are good for 6 months (in a plastic a freezer bag (glad pak). Mr. Green
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jask




Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 9



PostLink    Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have grown hops, and used them for finishing. The rhizomes I planted didn't really take off till the second year. The smell in the backyard when they were flowering was amazing Very Happy
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crush




Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 706
Location: Telemark, Norway


PostLink    Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, yes, using them for aroma is a good idea! Then, the bittering units are not important, and I also find aroma is where I need to use the most hops.

What kind of yeild is typical for a single hop bine? It would be great to be self-sufficient in aroma hops. The harder part is then choosing which ones to grow! Fuggles, EKG, Hallertau are top of the list for me, maybe also some Saaz. If anyone grows hops in their garden, it would be great to hear about it!

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silverspoons




Joined: 21 Dec 2010
Posts: 555
Location: Webster NY


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:30 am    Post subject: Sun? Reply with quote

How much direct sun is required?
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crush




Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 706
Location: Telemark, Norway


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm new to growing hops, but jumping in head first!
This article was a nice introduction http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.3/montell.html on growing hops, and it says that 6-8 hours of sun per day are needed. I'm not sure I get much sun that here, but my friends seem to have no problem with wild growing hops, although I haven't seen the cones from these wild ones so I will harvest theirs in the summer to see if hop growing is viable here.

Anyway in anticipation, I just bought a food dehydrator http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P2J3K0?ie=UTF8&tag=theelectricbrewery-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001P2J3K0 since I didn't like the idea of leaving the hops out for several days to dry. The dehydrator should ensure even and fast drying overnight.

I'm also going to buy a food saver for bagging the hops in vacuum sealed bags for storing in the freezer. Anyone know of a good unit they can recommend?

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Greg




Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 92
Location: Paradise, Newfoundland


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

crush wrote:
I'm also going to buy a food saver for bagging the hops in vacuum sealed bags for storing in the freezer. Anyone know of a good unit they can recommend?

I've been using the original FoodSaver for years, works great although I wouldn't mind a new model. I'm sure the Rival Seal-a-Meal vacuum sealer is just as good. I use the Rival food bags because they're cheaper. A co-worker gave me hops she had growing in her garden but I'm not sure of the variety. They definitely have a strong floral/citrus aroma with a pungent resiny bitterness although I never got around to using them. Instead, they've vacuum packed in the freezer. I definitely want to grow them this year but I'm not sure which to buy.

That being said, I had a prime rib roast frozen and sealed for 2 years and steaks around the same length of time, both came out surprisingly good if not better than meat frozen in standard packaging even for 1 day. I swear by the machines.
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crush




Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 706
Location: Telemark, Norway


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds good, greg. I've heard lots of positive views like yours, but a worrying number of negatives also. Reading reviews on Amazon, it seems hit an miss if you get a good one or not. Even the relatively expensive ones ($200-300) can be DOA or fail on second use, with many reviewers having to call CS or order replacement parts. Given that I'm shipping to Norway, I'm of course keen to avoid this, since returning a defective item will be $100+ and all the shipping hassle.

I've seen the foodsaver v2460/2490 which has the bag cutter, which I imagine is pretty useful. They sell for around $100 on ebay. Which model do you use?

[Side note, IIRC, meat is usually packed in nitrogen to stop the meat browning (those maiillard reactions that are so good for our beer!) so it's surprising to hear you don't get good results with commercially packaged meat. Maybe you have a low taste threshold and notice things the rest of us are unaware of?]

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Greg




Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 92
Location: Paradise, Newfoundland


PostLink    Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm using the FoodSaver Compact II that I took from the parents. It's probably 10 years old now and works like the day it was bought.

Regard commercially packaged or grocery store/supermarket meat, as I was comparing, it's generally just placed on a plastic absorbent pad on styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic. Freezing it this way does nothing to protect it from ice crystals forming and absorbing fridge flavors hence the end result, freezer burn. The water in the meat destroys the texture and once thawed a lot of the flavor and juices(water/blood) are lost. Vacuum sealing does the best at preventing this from happening but it can't eliminate it. But yes, I can definitely notice a difference in frozen vs fresh meat. I love to cook and certainly take time to savor the food I eat. Whenever possible I like to buy fresh.
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crush




Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 706
Location: Telemark, Norway


PostLink    Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard the older ones are more reliable! Although with the new ones, it seems mostly that the gaskets are the problem, due to drying out or compression. They're available online for $3 each so no huge crisis.

I'm pleased to discover that the foodsavers come with an attachment hose, and that a mason jar sealer is available! This seals the metal lid to the jar by pulling air from the jar. This could be good for storing hops in the freezer! While hops could be stored in the vacuum sealed bags, glass is a much better barrier to oxygen. I've got dozens of pint/quart ball canning jars for canning starters, and have sometimes used these for storing hops. Immediately resealable, gas impermeable and pretty much infinitely reuseable!

The main downside is their bulkiness.

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finch138




Joined: 03 Dec 2011
Posts: 5



PostLink    Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Think I'd like to try this... maybe next year.
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JMD887




Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 120
Location: Akron, Ohio

Drinking: Two Hearted Ale

Working on: American Red IPA


PostLink    Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

crush wrote:


Quote:
I'm also going to buy a food saver for bagging the hops in vacuum sealed bags for storing in the freezer. Anyone know of a good unit they can recommend?


My wife and I bought this model- http://amzn.to/2nzrdva

We use it all the time to package meat and other food products. I like it because you have the attachment to use with the food saver containers as well, works great on soups ect. I could imagine they would work great for hops
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